Filling The Void
by Skarla
Summary: The Shinigami gave their power in an attempt to get Ichigo back, but things did not go to plan.  Can the Gotei 13 even find Ichigo before all hell breaks loose in Hueco Mundo? Rated for character death and language. Hints of future IchiRen.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Don't own it, Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo.

Prologue:

He'd known that he'd missed them. He would have to be some kind of total moron not to have realised that he was missing them. They were his friends, his comrades in arms. But the feeling of loss had been eclipsed by the new gap inside his soul, the space where his zanpakuto and hollow had used to reside.

So it wasn't until that gaping void in his soul had suddenly been filled and he saw the line of Shinigami standing behind him, some strange sort of pride shining out of their eyes, that he realised how much he had missed the part of his life that he had often cursed. And when he saw Renji, standing there with a new bandana wrapped around his head, his red hair falling in its usual crimson glory, that he realised just how much he had missed him.

And then he pushed this new realisation to the back of his mind because he had some arses to kick. And sissy introspection was for girls, and Yumichika, and possibly Ishida, but he was too wary of the uptight Quincy to ask.

But if someone had plied him with a lot of alcohol, which didn't seem likely, he might have been forced to admit that the reason his first getsuga tenshou in months missed was because he was trying very hard not to look at Renji out of the corner of his eye, and failing miserably.

Stupid tattooed layabout.

A/N: The beginning of a plot bunny for a new story. Maybe I should give myself a challenge – write at least 30,000 words on this before Nanowrimo eats my soul in November. I think it could be done... only this story is rather current, so I will have to wait for Tite Kubo to draw some more! XD


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Bleach is the property of Kubo-sama, not me. This makes me sad...

A nagging feeling that he was missing something distracted Ichigo throughout the battle, but he pushed it to the back of his mind and refused to think of it. He was out of shape, and his opponent both knew that and had been helping him to get into shape. Not the best person to have a one-on-one fight to the death with.

Once the fight was complete, at least for the moment, the nagging feeling came back into play and he found himself wanting to look for something, but what it was he had no idea.

"Ichigo," Urahara said quietly, coming up behind him, his voice unusually solemn.

"Hey, Urahara, thank you for-"

Urahara held up one pale hand, and effectively stopped Ichigo in mid-flow. "Don't thank me yet," The scientist said darkly. "Not until you've got the whole story."

The worrying feeling that he was missing something completely obvious intensified. He could almost hear Zangetsu mutter something, but the newly woken bond with his Zanpakuto was too fragile for him to catch the words. He was about to demand that Urahara explain himself properly, when he caught a glimpse of Rukia's face over the man's shoulder. Her wide violet eyes that had been so full of proud fire when she had blurred into focus for this first time in _months _were now shimmering with tears.

"Oh Kami I hoped that this would not happen," she breathed. "Ichigo, I am so sorry!"

"Sorry for what?" Ichigo asked. "You brought my powers back, you saved me. What do you have to be sorry for?"

"Ichigo," she said quietly, the tears that shimmered in her amethyst eyes spilling over and running down her cheeks. "I've killed you."

"What?"

"Look around, Ichigo," Urahara said. "Do you see your body lying anywhere?"

"What happened to it?" Ichigo demanded, curling his hands into fists as he fought the urge to grab the front of Urahara's coat and shake the infuriating man.

"It disintegrated," the Scientist replied. "The cells that made up your body lost their cohesion under the force of the combined reiatsu. We knew that this was a risk."

"And you decided to go ahead anyway? You didn't have the right to choose for me!" Ichigo cried.

"No, Ichigo," came a stunningly familiar voice, the very familiarity shocking him like a dash of icy water. "I decided that it was the best thing for you. And I have that right."

Isshin Kurosaki stepped onto the roof, an uncharacteristically sombre expression on his face. "I decided for you, because you were wasting all of your potential, and because I couldn't stand to see the Son that trained so hard and reached so high fall in front of my eyes. I decided for you, because you're my eldest son and it falls to us to keep your sisters safe." He closed his eyes. "I decided for you because I hated lying to you every day, even if it was by omission. We defeated Aizen, he is most certainly gone, but we defeated him on our ground. We've fallen back, and regained our strength, and now it is time to clear out the mess that was left behind him."

Ichigo suppressed a shudder as a chill of fear managed to pierce through the firey blanket of rage he had wrapped around himself.

"It's time to go back to Las Noches."

A/N: Ok, still short, but slightly longer than last time. I was going to try and follow the current manga storyline, but the damn fight with the Fullbring idiots is taking too long and I got impatient. Sorry. I may just diverge compeltely, if I decide to continue with this. I wonder if anyone is reading? I shall have to check the statistics seeing as no-one reviews my stories anymore... ^sobs^


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I still don't own Bleach...

Warnings: Sort of character death... only this is Bleach so of course he's not really DEAD dead... and some swearing.

A/N: Ok, so I had most of the next chapter written out in my usual style... but then I decided that it was looking a little too much like 'After the Storm', and I wanted to branch out. So I came up with the following...

Renji watched from the side lines as realisation spread over Ichigo's expressive face and felt his heart crack a little. He was careful not to let any of the emotion show on his face – he was standing next to Kuchiki Byakuya after all. Wouldn't want to stand out more than necessary.

When Isshin stepped in and started to explain he breathed a sigh of relief and began to relax – until he caught the hint that something was not quite right.

Renji knew Ichigo. He knew Ichigo's reiatsu, and Ichigo's expressions, and Ichigo's moods and even the teenager's favourite foods. He knew what he looked like when sad, angry or excited, or all three at the same time. And he knew that he had never seen Ichigo looking like _that_.

There was something wrong.

Why couldn't anyone else see it?

Renji watched carefully, trying to figure out exactly what it was that had his Ichigo-radar bleeping. The hair was as ridiculously orange as ever. The robes were a little unconventional, but looked pretty cool to him. There was no hint of anything wrong in those knowing brown eyes, other than the obvious. It was when he looked at Zangetsu that the picture suddenly snapped together with horrifying clarity.

The Zanpakuto was shrinking, and not in a good way. Once he had noticed that, he started to notice other things – like the fact that he could see the shape of Rukia's hand through Ichigo's sleeve and the line of the rooftop through his hair.

Isshin had noticed now too, the man was standing with his mouth open, gaping like an idiot. Renji didn't think, couldn't think. He lunged forward desperately, arms outstretched.

"Ichigo!"

It felt like his heart had split in two when his reaching hands just fell _through_ the black fabric of Ichigo's haori. People were screaming and shouting around him, but all that he could do was stand there. Stand, and let the rage build up inside him.

Rukia was screaming denial, Isshin hollering about his son, Urahara loudly proclaiming that he didn't know what was going on. Kenpatchi was confused, Ikkaku concerned but not wanting to show it, and Byakuya was trying to calm Rukia down – unsuccessfully.

Renji bit his lip and glared at the space that Ichigo had inhabited ten seconds before. "He's gone to Soul Society, you bunch of fucking morons!" He shouted, as loudly as he could. "We KILLED him. What did you think was going to happen?"

He pretended not to notice as realisation spread across all of their faces, the guilt in Rukia's eyes was too much for him. He hadn't wanted her to hold the sword, he had argued with Urahara about it when she was out of earshot – but she had insisted. Urahara's expression when he looked at Renji was almost as guilty as Rukia's, but then the Shopkeeper had never quite understood the relationship between himself and Rukia, and he wasn't about to enlighten him now.

"So... what the fuck do we do now?" Ikkaku asked.

Hitsugaya snorted. "I don't know about you, but I'm going back to Soul Society. The situation in Hueco Mundo hasn't changed just because..." his voice tailed off and he swallowed. Renji knew that his glare was a challenge to the young Captain to complete his sentence, and took a sadistic pleasure in not looking away.

"Because _what_, Hitsugaya-taicho?" he asked with mocking respect.

Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed. "_Because we killed Ichigo_," he hissed, before turning on his heel and leaving.

Renji allowed himself a brief flash of triumph – before the look in Isshin's eyes made him regret it. The Ex-Captain turned to look at him, and Renji could barely suppress a flinch.

"What am I going to tell Yuzu and Karin?"

The last thing in the world that Renji expected to happen right then was for Kuchiki Byakuya to step up.

"Do not worry, Kurosaki-san," the Noble said quietly. "My household became accustomed to searching the Rukongai before we found Rukia. I will instruct them to begin the search again, for your son."

"Thank you, Kuchiki-taicho," Isshin muttered. "The help is most appreciated."

Renji swallowed, knowing that he didn't have the right to speak up now that his Captain had taken over didn't make holding back his comments any easier. Images of the endless streets of Rukongai filled his head as cold dread settled into his stomach. Rukongai was _massive_. They didn't have a hope in hell of finding Ichigo, their best hope would be for him to end up in one of the nicer districts and drift towards the Seireitei on his own.

Of course, seeing as he probably wouldn't remember anything, that could take a while.

A/N: Ok, so there's my stab at anxt. How did I do? It's actually shorter than the draft of the other version, but I'm telling myself that that is because I am writing out of my comfort zone. I've always loved fics like this, so I hope I do the genre justice!


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I still don't own Bleach...

Renji watched from the rooftop of the Fifth's barracks as members of the Fourth Division rushed yet another squad of badly injured Shinigami to the healing centre. It was pure bad luck that the straightest path between Twelfth and Fourth ran past his window – the Twelfth being where the gates to Hueco Mundo were being set up – but Renji hated it. He hated it because it mean that with sorties being run every three hours, he was never able to forget.

Las Noches had proved to be far more of a problem than anyone had realised, for although all the Espada had been defeated, members of their various Fraccion had survived, and had organised the remainder of Aizen's forces. With a far greater knowledge of the terrain, and the various traps that Aizen had worked into the design of the fortress, they were more of a nuisance than anyone had anticipated that they would be, and Renji reckoned that the squads sent in hadn't even come close to the ringleaders yet, they would be far too well hidden.

The latest strategy from the enemy seemed to be 'lure the Shinigami with traces of reiatsu and faint footsteps into an area where the floor/walls/ceiling is rigged to explode.' Renji _knew_ that they should have destroyed Szayel's lab while they had the chance, but Kurotsuchi had overruled him, insisting that there was far too much valuable data and that to loose it would be too terrible to contemplate. The Gotei 13 were paying for that decision now.

Worse of all, after six months of scouring Rukongai they still hadn't found Ichigo. There was no trace of the orange-haired Substitute-Shinigami in any of the areas that they had looked in. Renji had taken to aimlessly wandering the streets during his infrequent days off in the hope that he would sense something. He honestly didn't expect that he would, but doing something, however futile, was better than doing nothing at all.

The last few members of the squad were stumbling past him now, those who were able to move under their own power. Judging by the dust-covered shoulders and bandaged heads, Renji guessed that this lot had had a ceiling fall on them. He wouldn't be officially informed of the details of the sortie; the squad wasn't from the Fifth and the Captains had given up on reporting the outcomes of each individual foray months ago. Now they only met when there was something new to report, and judging by the dispirited demeanour of this group, they had nothing.

"Abarai-fukutaicho? Abarai-Fukutaicho!" came a slightly frantic cry from the open window beneath him.

"Yeah?" he called back.

"Abarai-fukutaicho, Kuchiki Rukia-sama is here to see you!"

Renji swore. How had he not noticed her reiatsu approaching? "I'll be in in a second!"

"No need," Rukia replied as her head appeared over the gutter. She climbed up onto the roof, ignoring the scandalised protests of his fourth seat. "I'm not scared of heights."

"I needed some space to think," Renji said in explanation.

"You always did like high places for that," she responded, sitting down next to him.

"Are you ok?" he asked. "You don't usually come here. To the Division Offices, I mean."

Rukia sighed. "The manor is full of servants who keep on looking guilty and apologising for not finding Ichigo, and because Ichigo looked – looks – so much like Kaien-dono, Ukitake-Taicho is taking it pretty hard that he's gone. Besides," she continued, turning and punching him in the shoulder, "I never see you, apart from at the weekly Vice-Captain meetings! Every time I have a day off you're either working or no-where to be found!"

"Sorry Rukia." Renji rubbed his shoulder. "I ain't been avoiding ya, honest!"

Rukia snorted. "If I didn't know better I'd say that you were in love! You're always lost in thought or off doing something secret."

"Th-that's ridiculous!" Renji spluttered. "I've been lookin' fer Ichigo, not mooning over a woman!"

Rukia sighed and tucked the hem of her overly long hakama under her toes. "So have I. I was hopin' to look fer him together."

Renji winced. Rukia almost _never _slipped out of the 'proper' way of speaking that the Kuchiki's drilled into him – unlike Renji, who slipped every time he got emotional. She must be really upset about it... which was pretty damn obvious when he thought about it, as she obviously had feelings for the idiot. He decided to ignore the strange feeling in his stomach after that thought and get on with making it up to her. "Sorry," he muttered. "It's just that I was looking in the rougher districts – you know as well as I do that the reason why the Kuchiki servants never found you was because they're scared to go further than 30th – and I'd stand out less on my own."

"Oi! I can handle myself!" Rukia protested. Renji grinned and ruffled her hair.

"Yeah, but you walk and talk like a lady now. I still look like a gangster, especially with all the tattoos."

Rukia looked oddly wistful. "I wish I shared something so visible with Sode no Shirayuki."

Renji shook his head. "This sort of thing wouldn't be right for the two of you. But maybe she'd like that too, you could always ask her. Zabimaru totally approves of mine. Loudly."

'_Hey!_' came the expected protest from his sheathed sword. It was time to change the subject.

"Say, Rukia, what are you up to today?" Renji asked.

Rukia shrugged. "Not much. My 3rd seat is leading the training session today, half my division had yet to be cleared for duty after the last three trips to Hueco Mundo and for once I am up to date on my paperwork.

"Famous last words."

"Don't jinx me, idiot."

"Kuchiki-Taicho basically banished me from the office this morning, so I'm free too," Renji said cheerfully. "Don't ask. It's not even lunch time yet, fancy a trip to Rukongai?"

Rukia snorted at his evasion. "You know Nii-sama will just tell me all about whatever it is that you did tonight."

"Still, don't ask. You can tease me about it tomorrow. Rukongai?"

"Fine. Let's go!"


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I still do not own Bleach, through a total lack of trying...

A/N: I know the chapters are short... I would like to reassure my readers that each one is longer than the one before! I know, I have the word counts... also, I had every intention of including some fighting in this chapter, but my muses decided otherwise, so please don't be disappointed when there isn't any!

x

A week after his fruitless trip to Rukongai with Rukia, Renji found himself leading a squad of fifteen Shinigami into Hueco Mundo via one of the permanent gates that the Twelfth had built. There were eventually going to be three of the things, each opening onto a different side of Las Noches when activated. At the moment, two of them were up and running most of the time, but there was some sort of deeply rooted problem with the third that Kurotsuchi couldn't seem to explain without falling into some sort of scientific code. The Captain was currently tearing at his bright blue hair while his subordinates frantically dismantled and reassembled various parts of the structure under Nemu's dispassionate instruction.

Renji was pretty sure that if they ever got the damn thing working, Yamamoto would order a series of timed three-pronged attacks in the hope of doing some real damage to the entrenched Arrancar.

The Vice-Captain was first through the gate, as usual. He stood to one side and watched as the other Shinigami followed. Some strolled though, the confidant veterans of many battles. Others dashed through – the battle-hungry and those with some sort of score to settle. The rest crept through looking around nervously, hunched shoulders betraying their tension even if he couldn't see their expressions. Those would be the Rookies who had never been to the Dimension before.

Renji made sure that the hood of the sand coloured cloak he wore was covering all of his distinctive hair before giving the order to move out – a sharp flick of his left hand. Before he had walked three steps there was sand in his tabi. The sand of Hueco Mundo had become a sort of personal torture, and the reason why he hated the dimension. Before, he had merely disliked the place, and that was only because it was so damn big and full of traitors. Now he hated Hueco Mundo itself. It was all sand and stone trees and annoying Hollow Lizards who would attempt to bite your toes if they got a chance.

The group of Shinigami, all swathed in identical hooded cloaks, blended in with the sand dunes as they approached the looming white walls of Las Noches. It had been decided some weeks ago that until all three gates were operational, it would be better if they gave the Arrancar as little opportunity as possible to locate them and mount a counter-attack, as unlikely as that seemed given their current behaviour. They also weren't allowed to shunpo away from the gate, in case the enemy could track the reiatsu trails backwards and pinpoint the location, so they were going to walk.

Renji had never wished for a giant Hollowfied worm so much in his life.

The cold, sterile corridors of Las Notches were a welcome respite from the sandy Hell that Renji had endured for the past half hour. However, experience had taught Renji that for some reason the sand was always worse on the way back, so he did not give into the temptation to call a halt and brush all the sand out of his socks. He knew that he was terrible at sensing both Reiatsu and Kido traps, but he knew that a couple of Shinigami within the squad were experts, so he gestured for everyone to take down their hoods. Once he'd located the pair, he beckoned, and gestured that they were to go ahead. He picked left, as the last squad through this gate had had instructions to go right. Renji brought up the rear – a sneak attack from behind was a real possibility and they had learnt early on to always appoint a strong rear guard.

Several hours passed without a single Shinigami sensing anything, the silence was beginning to get on everyone's nerves and Renji was about to signal to the leaders to turn back and go home, when the sound of voices echoed down the corridor ahead.

"But what about the Shinigami?"

"The last patrol would have given up by now, and the next in this area is not due for four hours."

Renji blessed his stubborn nature while frantically gesturing for the squad to retreat as quietly as possible. They tiptoed back around a corner and ducked into an empty room that they had checked a few seconds before. Renji motioned the others to flatten themselves against the wall that backed the corridor as he crouched by the doorway, listening carefully.

"...can't go on for much longer."

"Don't underestimate the Shinigami. They've made it their mission to eradicate us."

"How long until it is ready?"

"Three months, according to the latest prediction."

"I believe that we can keep the defences strong for that long, if the attacks remain consistent."

"They have been consistent for two months now. I believe that hassling us has become routine and they are no longer focussing solely on us."

"That is to our advantage, they will not be expecting..."

Renji closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. That was more information in ten seconds than they have been able to gather in the last ten weeks. Now all that they had to do was get back to Soul Society to report.

He waited what seemed like an eternity before giving the signal to move out. As the group crept down the corridors he debated abandoning stealth and just making a run for it – stealth was hardly his strong point after all. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that currently the Arrancar didn't know that they were there and did not suspect that they had been overheard. If the squad made a commotion that could all change, and the thought of explaining himself to his Captain made him shudder. He and the elder Kuchiki had built a good working relationship over the months since the Winter War, and Renji _really_ didn't want to screw that up. He could just imagine the conversation:

_"So, Abarai-fukutaicho, how did the sortie into Hueco Mundo progress?"_

_ "Well, Kuchiki-taicho, I managed to overhear some vital information about the Arrancar plans, and we could have totally got the jump on them, but then I got impatient and gave the order to blast our way out, so now they know that we know and they'll probably change the plan."_

His Captain probably wouldn't even say anything, he'd just give him that _look_. Renji hated the look. With a mental sigh he resigned himself to sneaking out.

They retraced their original route, hoping that the Arrancar weren't in the process of laying more traps over it. It wasn't the most direct route, but Renji was hoping that they might have stumbled on a pathway that the Arrancar themselves occasionally used, and that was why they had not yet been detected. After all, they must have a way to get to the traps to set them.

The stakes were high, and the tension was showing on the face of every member of the squad by the time they reached the exit. Renji had been keeping a worried eye on the rookies. You never could tell what rookies would do on their first mission. He was almost glad to see the sand and know that in half an hour it would all be over.

Almost.

A/N: Next chapter might be a while, as Nanowrimo starts tomorrow. I just got this one finished in time. If I get stuck on whatever my Nanowrimo project ends up being (I hate my plan now, so I might have to make a new one) I will work on this in an attempt to get past the block. Thanks for all the reviews! Please let me know what you think of this chapter.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, this is not-for-profit, detached-from-reality fanfiction.

A/N: My apologies for the long wait, Nanowrimo ate my life, as usual, and then I didn't fancy writing for a couple of weeks.

They told him that he was dead, but that he shouldn't worry about it. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. They told him that there was no point in searching for anyone he knew, because the city was too big, and he told them that he didn't remember anyone so searching would be a waste of time. They told him that that was probably for the best, that memories of life brought nothing but pain. He wasn't sure how he felt about that either. He knew that his name was Ichigo, and that that was supposed to mean something, but he wasn't sure what. He knew that something was missing, but he could never quite remember what it was.

The city was made up of muddy streets, some lined with stones and some without, and wooden buildings. Each building had a little garden, and there was a well in the centre of their section. They told him that he was in the 42nd district, but the words meant nothing to him. They told him that if he climbed to the top of the rise, he could see shining white towers. He had no interest in seeing shining white towers, and so he did not climb the rise.

He had been told that he had appeared by the well one morning, and an old couple fetching water had taken him back to their house, and given him clothes and a place to sleep. He was grateful for the help, and fixed their leaking roof for them, before moving on into an empty shack and slowly starting to repair it. He found that he liked to repair things, he had a feeling that perhaps he hadn't done so much repairing in his life.

He was hungry, but no-one else was, and the old couple had regarded him with some confusion when he had asked what there was to eat. As the days passed he found that he had less and less time to work on his own house, because he was always being asked to help fix other people's houses, and they would give him food grown in their gardens in return. It was a satisfying existence, until the boy arrived.

He stumbled into the district, bloody and bruised, and collapsed next to the well. Ichigo scrambled down from the roof he had been repairing, and rushed over to the limp figure.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Water?" the boy moaned.

Ichigo grabbed the bucket from the side of the well, and scooped some of the water inside into his palm, trickling it carefully into the boy's mouth. "What happened? Who did this to you?" Ichigo asked.

"Monsters attacked the 43rd district," the boy explained faintly. "And the Shinigami did not come."

By this time a small audience had gathered around the well, and several of the adults were shaking their heads and muttering to themselves.

"That's not right!" Protested the old man who had taken Ichigo in. "The Shinigami are supposed to protect us from the monsters!"

The word tugged at something inside Ichigo's head, but he pushed it away. "Perhaps the Shinigami didn't know?" he suggested.

"He's right dear," the old woman said peaceably. "Perhaps we should send someone to the gates to tell them, they can send a patrol down to make sure it's safe here."

"I'll go," said the man whose roof Ichigo had been working on. "I'll probably be a few days."

"I'll look after the boy," Ichigo offered. "I can get him cleaned up and see to his wounds."

The old man smiled at him. "I'll help you to get him inside."

Together they lifted the slight body, and carried the boy carefully into Ichigo's house. Ichigo only had one futon, but they laid the boy on the floor by the fire pit to start with, and Ichigo began to tear his old clothes up to make rags and bandages to cover the wounds.

"It looks like most of these were caused when he bumped into things while running away," the old man observed as Ichigo passed him a clay bowl of water and a scrap of cloth.

Once he was clean, they put the boy on Ichigo's futon, and Ichigo left the old man watching over him while he went to find fresh bedding for himself. It didn't take long; the people in the 42nd district were always willing to help.

"Make sure you feed him," said one woman, two small children peering out at him with wide eyes from behind the folds of her kimono.

"I will," Ichigo promised as he took the pile of blankets she handed to him. "Are you sure that you can spare all of these?"

She shrugged. "I make them out of the clothes that the children tear, we have plenty. Thanks to you the house is less draughty now, so we don't need so many blankets to keep warm."

Ichigo eventually returned to his house laden with a large pile of blankets and a basket of bread perched precariously on top. The boy was awake, and looking warily at the old man, who had nodded off. "Hello," Ichigo said cheerfully, piling the blankets next to the door and putting the basket on one of the two crooked shelves he had managed to put up. He was rather proud of the shelves; even if they weren't straight they at least stayed on the wall. His first two attempts to put them up had failed rather spectacularly.

"Hello," the boy replied.

Ichigo smiled as reassuringly as he could manage and sat down cross legged next to the fire. "I'm Ichigo. What's your name?" He noticed that the more he looked at the boy, the more nervous the boy became, so he bent to stir up the fire, added more wood and began to prepare the ingredients for a simple broth to go with the bread.

"Kapi," the boy replied after a few moments of silence.

"Nice to meet you," Ichigo said as he began to slice cabbage. "You can stay with me for a while, until you're healed, and then you get to do whatever you want to do."

"The Shinigami didn't come," the boy suddenly blurted out, clutching the blankets to his chest. "Why didn't they come?"

"I don't know," Ichigo replied, tipping the cabbage into the pot and adding the rest of the vegetables. He poured fresh water on top and set the pot to boil. "I don't know much about Shinigami."

"How long have you been dead?"

Ichigo glanced up at the ceiling as he tallied the days in his head. "About a month."

"Well, the Shinigami live in the white towers, and they're supposed to come out and protect people when there's trouble," Kapi explained.

"Well, it doesn't sound like they're doing a particularly good job at the moment," Ichigo observed, stirring at the soup. It didn't look particularly appetising, he had a feeling that he hadn't done much cooking while he was alive. "Although this is a big place, maybe they were busy helping some other people? No-one can be in two places at once after all."

The boy nodded reluctantly. "There are rumours," he said. "That bad things are happening elsewhere, and keeping the Shinigami very busy."

"There's always a bigger picture," Ichigo explained. "Sometimes it doesn't seem fair, but if you can see the bigger picture you can understand why it isn't fair. This soup is about as good as it's going to get, are you hungry?"

"Yes."

"Well, wake up Grandpa over there and we can eat."

Over the course of the next few days, Ichigo and Kapi fell into a routine. Kapi would help Ichigo fix the houses, and then they would return to Ichigo's house and Ichigo would make repairs while Kapi cooked dinner for both of them. It didn't take long for Ichigo to get used to having the boy around, and he found himself wondering if he had had siblings when he was alive, but he pushed the thought away. He was dead and he couldn't change that, so there was no point in dwelling on things past. They would just make him sad and restless. He decided that he did not want to remember.

So when the man returned with a squad of black clad Shinigami, lead by a man with firey red hair who took one look at Ichigo, grinned, and bounded towards him with arms outstretched calling his name, Ichigo squashed down the faint sense of _recognition_ stirring in his soul and punched the Shinigami in the face.

TBC… let me know what you think?


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Another short chapter I'm afraid, but at least it came quickly, right?

Renji had bullied his way onto the squad sent to check out the disturbance in district 43 on a whim. Partially because he was going stir crazy stuck in barracks 'overseeing' while his Captain stood in meeting after meeting, and partially because he was taking every opportunity he could get to look for Ichigo. He had never expected, after looking through the ruins of the 43rd and heading for the 42nd district to question one of the survivors, to see that familiar head of orange spiky hair standing behind the boy.

In hindsight, rushing over for a hug when there was almost no recognition in the familiar brown eyes had not been his smartest move, although the punch to the nose was still a surprise. He managed to recover just in time to stop the squad he was leading from doing anything stupid, like trying to arrest his friend - he could just imagine the look on his Captain's face if he had to explain that one - and stared into Ichigo's face, the expression of contained rage it held also achingly familiar.

"I guess you don' remember me, eh?" he asked, carefully feeling his nose.

"I don't want to remember," Ichigo snapped automatically.

Renji swallowed down a surge of disappointment and tried to plaster an uncaring expression on his face, but he suspected that he wasn't being particularly successful from the way Ichigo was looking at him. "I'm sorry about tha', Ichigo," he said sincerely. "Because I need you to remember."

Ichigo's eyes had widened when Renji had said his name, but he was still glaring. "Why?"

"What?"

Ichigo's scowl deepened. "Why do you need me to remember?" he asked, folding his arms defensively. "I'm perfectly happy here."

"No you're not," Renji objected. "You might be content here, but there's a difference 'tween content an' happy."

"I don't even know you!" Ichigo protested. "I don't need some random stranger telling me how to live my life."

Renji flinched. He was surprised by how much the words had hurt. He hadn't been prepared for the complete lack of recognition in Ichigo's eyes. He had expected to find confusion, he had even expected Ichigo to have forgotten his name, but he hadn't expected not to be recognised at all. "I'm not a random stranger," he said as firmly as he could manage.

"You might as well be!" Ichigo cried. "I don't even know your name!"

Renji sighed and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. "Look, just… let me talk to you? Please?" he hated that he sounded so pathetic, but he had been looking for Ichigo for weeks, and now that the former substitute Shinigami was standing in front of him he realised that he wasn't going back to the Court without at least hearing his name fall from Ichigo's lips.

"Fine," Ichigo scowled. "But deal with Kapi first."

"The kid? Sure," Renji agreed readily. "Just… don't go anywhere, please Ichigo?"

"I'm not going anywhere, I happen to live here," Ichigo pointed out icily, still scowling.

"I know, I'm sorry," Renji apologised. "It's just that I've been looking for you fer a while."

"And you can explain why _after_ you deal with Kapi. You Shinigami let him down, you at least owe him an explanation."

Renji swallowed his frustration, knowing that Ichigo was right, and walked over to where three of his squad members were talking to the young boy. They all saluted as he approached and he suppressed his habitual wince at the gesture. "Hi there," he said in his best 'talking to children' voice. "I hear you're one of the survivors? Kapi, right?"

"I thought I was the only one?" the boy responded, a faint glimmer of hope brightening his dull eyes. Renji shook his head.

"No, when we arrived we met several people combing the rubble, I was just about to tell you," Renji's eighth seat explained calmly.

"You three escort Kapi back t' the 43rd district and see if he knows anyone," Renji ordered.

"Right away Sir!"

Kapi smiled up at him, the expression transforming his bruised face. "Thank you, Shinigami. Maybe you didn't come to save us, but you came afterwards anyway, and I think that still counts."

Renji crouched down so that he could look the boy in the eye. "We would'a come to save you if we had known," he explained. "The division that deals wi' that sort o' thing is tied up in a big important project, so they couldn't tell us like they would normally. I'm sorry."

Kapi bit his lip thoughtfully. "This project… it's really important?" he asked.

Renji nodded. "If it doesn't work th' whole o' Rukongai could be filled wi' monsters. It would be very, very bad."

"Ok."

Renji watched in surprise as Kapi just turned away, walking off in the direction of the 43rd, the three Shinigami assigned to be his escort scrambling to follow. After a moment, he decided that he really didn't understand children, and crouching in the dirt like a moron trying to figure them out wasn't going to get him anywhere. He needed to talk to Ichigo.

He found the teenager in the back garden of his home, weeding the vegetable patch. "Hey," he called, standing awkwardly on the other side of the fence. "Mind if I come in?"

Ichigo shot him a measured look from behind the tomato vines. "Come in."

"Thanks."

Renji climbed over the low fence and stood awkwardly for a moment. "I've been looking for you for weeks," he blurted out.

"You already said that," Ichigo pointed out, his tone indicating that he was currently under the impression that Renji was a moron. Renji wasn't all that certain that he was wrong. "Why have you been searching for a dead guy?"

"You weren't supposed to die."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You're a Shinigami, right? From what I understand you're part of the world of the dead, not the world of the living. I was alive until about a month ago, so why do you even know who I am?"

Renji sighed. "I suppose I should start from the beginning."

"That's usually a good place to start," Ichigo muttered sarcastically.

"Gimme a break," I don' know all o' it," Renji complained. "Your Dad was a Shinigami Captain. Somethin' happened, I don't know what exactly, 'twas before I was a Shinigami, and he ended up in the living world. Um… he met your mum there, and they 'ad three kids, you're the oldest. Then your mum was attacked by a hollow and died. Um… when you were growin' up you could see ghosts, and it turned out you could see Shinigami too. you met Rukia…" haltingly, Renji began to explain just how and why Rukia had given Ichigo Shinigami powers and then had been sentenced to death for it, but the sceptical expression on Ichigo's face kept on putting him off.

"This is bullshit," Ichigo declared, interrupting Renji in the middle of his explanation of how and why Ichigo broke into Seireitai. "It sounds like you're making it all up."

"I'm not!" Renji protested. "I'm just crap at telling stories. Don't you remember anything?"

Ichigo shook his head stubbornly. "I told you, I don't want to remember."

"But you have to!" Renji shouted in frustration. "We need you t' remember!"

"It's my afterlife!" Ichigo retorted.

"Dying seems to have turned you into a complete coward," Renji said accusingly. "The Ichigo I knew would stop at nothin' t' protect his friends. He faced impossible odds an' beat 'em because he refused to admit defeat. You can't be bothered to even try! Your friends are in danger, an' if you could remember you could help 'em, but you don't want to. I need you to remember, dammit Kurosaki, man up and stop bein' such a wimp!"

Ichigo threw the first punch, but it was Renji who toppled them backwards into the vegetable patch, squashing the growing plants as they did their best to beat each other bloody. Ichigo managed a second punch to Renji's face, bruising the corner of his eye, and Renji countered by ducking and head-butting Ichigo's chin as hard as he could. Ichigo retaliated by spitting blood into Renji's face, and then punching him in the gut when he lifted his guard to wipe blood and saliva out of his stinging eyes. Renji pulled Ichigo into a head lock and snapped his leg out to kick Ichigo behind the knee, but Ichigo managed to roll over, pushing off against the rickety fence, part of which collapsed into Renji's shoulder, the unexpected impact causing the redhead to loosen his grip. With a cry of triumph, Ichigo broke free and reached over his shoulder for Zangetsu's hilt. Renji watched with bleary interest from his position sprawled amongst the remains of the fence as the zanpakuto shimmered into existence, settling into it's usual position over Ichigo's back. His interest quickly turned to alarm as Ichigo's eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed into the tomato vines.

A/N: See? It didn't take Renji that long to get through to him…


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I still don't own Bleach.

A/N: I kinda miss my beta… but when I started this I had no idea that this would grow so long and so I didn't tell her about it… now I feel like I am sneakily writing fanfiction behind her back. Any suggestions as to what I should do, anyone?

Ichigo woke to find himself lying on his futon, a basket of slightly squashed tomatoes sitting on the floor beside his head. He turned to look at the ceiling instead, and blinked as a swirl of tomato red and pitch black coalesced into the annoying Shinigami he had met earlier hovering over him. He looked worried, and was now sporting a rather shiny black eye.

"Did I do that?" Ichigo asked. The Shinigami grinned, his teeth surprisingly white and even.

"Yeah, but don't worry," he drawled huskily. "You've given me worse before."

"We fought while I was alive?" Ichigo asked, his curiosity piqued. He sat up cautiously, discovering more bruises with every new motion.

"Yup, we've fought a couple of times as enemies, we trained together, and sometimes we've fought just because we pissed each other off," the red-headed man replied. "All were fun in different ways."

"You're mad," Ichigo informed him, somehow unable to take his eyes off of the bold black strokes of ink painting the Shinigami's forehead and neck. The Shinigami's smile widened.

"That's not the first time you've told me that."

Unable to shake a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something was different about the room, Ichigo ignored his unwelcome house-guest for a moment in favour of looking around to try and figure of what it was. He ignored the knowing look that slowly spread across the other man's face. Eventually, he twisted to look behind him, discovering a new bruise on his backside as he did so, and that was when he spotted the six foot sword leaning casually against the wall. The long blade was swathed in a strip of white fabric, the cloth twisting perfectly over the sweeping curve of the edge. A spark of recognition flashed through his brain, materialising into a name.

"Zangetsu…"

The Shinigami smacked his fist against his knee in triumph. "Good, you've remembered Zangetsu," he said happily. "Hopefully that means that you won't have to start all over again with him, 'cause that would really suck. You're not going to be much use without him. Do you remember Bankai?"

"What's Bankai?" Ichigo asked, the word feeling oddly familiar as he pronounced it.

His unwelcome visitor smirked at him. "Don't worry," he promised. "You'll remember soon enough."

Ichigo rubbed his hands over his face and looked the man square in the eye. "You know," he said, noticing for the first time that the Shinigami's eyes were an odd burgundy colour, "you never told me your name."

"I'm not going to," the Shinigami replied, an odd, almost wistful expression on his face. "I want you to remember me yourself."

"That's a bit harsh!" Ichigo protested.

"You've remembered Zangetsu, you can remember me," he insisted.

Ichigo sighed and gave up. "Don't you have to go back to whoever your boss is and report?" he asked.

"I should probably tell Kuchiki-taicho that his men can stop looking for you," the Shinigami said, watching Ichigo's face carefully. "But then Rukia will find out about it, and come to drag you back to Seireitai immediately. I'm not sure that that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"It's complicated. Zaraki-taicho will want to spar with you, you'll probably think that he's trying to kill you. Kurotsuchi-taicho will want to experiment on you until you get your memories back - which might kill you. He'll want to keep you at the 12th, Unohana-taicho will want you at the 4th, there'll be big arguments, and I really don't think it would be a good thing for you, or for the rest of the Soul Society if they're distracted by arguing over you rather than doing what they should be doing."

Ichigo decided not to ask what they should be doing - from the look on the Shinigami's face he didn't think that he wanted to know. "It sounds like I'm better off staying here until I start to remember," he said. "I don't like the idea of being experimented on. How do people usually get their memories back?"

The Shinigami glanced away, and Ichigo somehow knew that he wasn't going to like the answer to his question. "Most souls don't, not really. But then you're a special case."

"How come?"

"I told you, your father was a Shinigami. You had Shinigami powers while you were alive, the Captains decided to make you into a Substitute Shinigami." He looked like he was about to say more, but bit his lip and looked away instead. "I'll go and look up memory loss in the library."

"The Shinigami have a library?" Ichigo asked.

The redhead shrugged. "Of course we do, it's part of the Academy. You can't have a school without a library."

"I guess not."

"There'll be something in there," he said confidently, rising to his feet and stepping to the edge of the floor to tie his sandals. "I'll come back as soon as I know what to do to help you remember."

Ichigo turned back to look at the sword leaning against the wall. He thought that he could sense emotions emanating from it, the tingling of happiness and pride feeling warm on his skin, like faint sunshine. "What do I do with the sword?" he asked.

Silhouetted in the doorway, the Shinigami turned and looked over his shoulder. "Talk to it."

Ichigo stared at the sword for a long moment after the door had closed behind his unexpected visitor. The shape of it was familiar and yet new at the same time. An odd sense of vertigo overwhelmed him, and the world seemed to tilt. He blinked, and shook his head to try to dispel the odd sensation, and it seemed to fade away slowly.

"This is stupid," he said to no-one in particular - he certainly wasn't talking to the damn sword, he decided. He looked around, his eyes falling on the second futon laid out on the floor, and decided to go and see if Kapi had returned to the 42nd, although he hoped that the kid hadn't. He hoped that some of the boy's family had survived the monster attack. The Shinigami had called them 'hollow', and that word seemed to link to odd associations in his head - masks and screams and _cero. _He wasn't sure what cero was, but the word was there in his mind. For a second, he wished that the Shinigami had stayed, if only because he was pretty sure that the tattooed git could tell him what a cero was.

None of his neighbours knew where Kapi was, although they all assured Ichigo that as the boy had left in the company of two Shinigami, he would be perfectly safe. His bruises aching, Ichigo decided to ignore the early hour and just go to bed. He took great pleasure in stealing the bedding that Kapi had used and using it to make his bed more comfortable.

His sleep that night was uneasy and full of strange dreams. Monsters with long noses lined with holes like strange musical instruments loomed over him, flashes of red light lit up the sky. Two small girls screamed, their scared faces floating in the darkness in front of his face.

"Ichi-nii!" they cried.

Ichigo woke with a start. Sweating he sat upright, gripping his blankets tightly. "Yuzu and Karin," he whispered to the empty room. "How could I forget Yuzu and Karin?"

All of a sudden the room didn't seem all that empty. Ichigo turned slowly to look at the sword leaning against the wall next to him. It was glowing with a faint blue light.

"Zangetsu?"

The light pulsed as he spoke the name, flames of blue energy reaching out into the room. Suddenly sleepy, Ichigo lay back down and watched through tired eyes as the light began to fade.

"Night, old man," he muttered as his eyelids became to heavy for him to open. Just as he fell asleep, he thought that he caught the edge of a reply.

"Goodnight, Ichigo…"

A/N: This chapter is a little shorter than I was aiming for, sorry guys. It's REALLY hard to write Ichigo when he doesn't remember anything, so the next few chapters will be from Renji again, until Ichigo remembers some more…


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, and I make no money from writing fanfiction… Duh!

Renji hadn't quite realised just how little free time he had until he wanted to spend every minute of it in Rukongai beating some sense into a certain soul. He had plenty of time in the evenings, but to get all the way out to the 42nd district and back, without causing massive amounts of disturbance by flash-stepping the entire way, you needed an entire afternoon, not an evening. He started spending his evenings in the library of the Academy, ignoring the curious glances from students who were wondering what on earth the Lieutenant of the Sixth Division was doing wandering around, when he clearly wasn't going to be teaching a class.

Renji found the library oddly soothing, if overly dusty. It was connected by underground passages to several larger records rooms, and seemed to be the sort of place where Ukitake-taicho would spend a lot of time. Light streamed through from windows so high above his head that everything on ground level was shrouded in a sort of dim twilight. By his third visit he had even managed to properly master the light kido that was necessary when studying there. When he had been a student, Kira had always made his for him, and Renji was quite pleased with himself when he finally cracked it, several decades after he was supposed to. He almost turned around right then and there to tell Kira about it, and perhaps go for a quiet drink and see if he could wipe some of the sadness from the blond man's eyes, but the thought of Ichigo sitting there in Rukongai not knowing who he was stopped him.

As it turned out, there were quite a few books on amnesia, and all of them were very dusty. Renji was making some headway into separating the useful books from the ones that didn't seem that they would be at all helpful, when he was interrupted.

"Abarai-kun, what are you doing down here?"

The unexpected voice coming from behind him made Renji nearly jump out of his skin, and loose his concentration completely. The light Kido went out with a splutter, but there was now a second light in the room, coming from behind him. Renji spun in his seat to look into the amused eyes of Ukitake-taicho.

"Uh... good evening, Taicho," Renji spluttered, trying hard to come up with an answer. "I'm doing some research."

Smiling, Ukitake leaned over the desk, his eyes flicking from side to side as he scanned over the text Renji had been ploughing through. "Research on memory loss?" he questioned. "That's an unusual topic."

Renji scratched the back of his head, and reckoned that telling at least part of the truth was probably his best bet at getting out of this. "I was thinking of Ichigo," he admitted. "When we find him, he might not remember anything. Not many souls do, after all."

"You show more forethought than many give you credit for," Ukitake said warmly.

Renji immediately felt guilty, and tried not to let it show on his face. "Thank you, Ukitake-taicho."

"Well, I shall leave you to your studying," Ukitake said. "I'm sure that Ichigo will be located soon, and the knowledge that you are gaining now might be needed."

He turned to leave, and Renji watched out of the corner of his eye as the powerful captain moved gracefully behind the bookcases. Twp seconds later, the light that followed behind him also moved out of view, and Renji realised that he was now sitting in the dark. Biting back a curse – Ukitake might still be in earshot – he concentrated hard and muttered out the short incantation for the light kido. He had a lot more reading to do before he was at a point where he could help Ichigo.

Two days later he found himself cashing in all the favours he could and sneaking into the human world in the middle of the night for a raid on Ichigo's house, all the while hoping that Kira and Shuuhei between them would manage to cover for him, and that they'd bought the story that he'd made up. He'd told them that he was planning on asking Ishida to see if he could perhaps sense which part of Rukongai Ichigo had landed in using his superior reiatsu sensing skills. Kira had looked rather suspicious at first, but he suspected that Shuuhei might have quietly convinced him that 'poor old Renji' was grasping at straws and it would be best to humour him.

As quietly as he could, he slid Ichigo's bedroom window open. Perched on the windowsill, he carefully surveyed the empty room. It was neat and tidy, Ichigo's substitute badge left carefully on the middle of the desk. Renji stepped down onto the bed, realising at the last moment that he was about to tread on the small yellow lion plushie curled up asleep in the middle of the cover. He leapt over the mod soul as quietly as he could, and began to search the room. He found a picture of Ichigo, Chad and Tatsuki on the desk. Sneaking quietly downstairs, he stole some rock buns that had obviously been made by Yuzu. Praying that Isshin wouldn't notice, he took a picture of Ichigo standing with Yuzu and Karin, and another of Isshin and a woman who had to be Ichigo's mother standing together from the mantlepiece. Tucking the pictures into his shihakushou, he tip-toed to the door, never noticing the shadowy figure at the top of the stairs.

Isshin watched Renji sneak out of his house, and felt a slight glimmer of hope. If the loud-mouthed red-head had snuck in to steal pictures, there must have been a good reason. If he had just wanted a keepsake he would have come to the front door and asked. Renji was up to something, something to do with Ichigo, and he didn't want anyone to know. Isshin sighed quietly, and turned to return to his room. He could look forward to seeing his son again.

The appearance of a small figure in a white nightgown stopped him in his tracks. "Dad? What was Renji-san doing here?" Karin asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"I… uh… he… uh… Daddy loves you very much!" Isshin proclaimed, even though he could tell from the look on his daughter's face that his evasions weren't going to work this time.

"Dad, I'm not a distractible child anymore," Karin said coldly. "What was Renji-san doing here?"

"You grow up too fast," Isshin told her. "Abarai was here to take some pictures and rock buns from the look of it."

Karin's eyes widened. "What? Why would he sneak in and take those?"

Isshin shrugged. "I can only think of one theory that fits."

"So tell me!" Karin insisted.

Isshin scratched his beard thoughtfully. "It disturbs me that you cannot figure it out for yourself. Oh, Masaki! We have created a lazy child!"

A slight fluctuation in his reiatsu cushioned the blow to his chin effectively, but he still threw himself backwards for effect. Practically growling, Karin stood over him with clenched fists. "I want to know if you've figured out the same thing that I have, baka-oyaji!" she spat.

The former captain sighed and climbed to his feet, satisfied that Karin was merely looking for reassurance, not depending on him to draw conclusions for her. "I think that it means that Renji has found Ichigo, and that Ichigo doesn't remember anything. He must have decided that it will be safer for Ichigo to remain lost until he remembers."

"And he needs the pictures to help Ichi-nii remember?" Karin asked.

Isshin nodded. "That's what I think. I might be wrong."

Karin snorted in a most unladylike fashion. "You might be crazy, but you're not wrong very often," she pointed out. "Let's go to bed. It's late."

"Um… I think I should be the one telling you that?" Isshin said in surprise.

"I'm tired," Karin informed him, turning on her heel and walking back into the room she shared with Yuzu. "Try not to snore too loudly tonight."

"I do not snore!" Isshin protested, but he found himself talking to the closed door. Unable to stop himself from smiling, he checked that Ichigo's window was closed before he climbed into his own bed. He stared at the picture of Masaki on his bedside table, her beloved face frozen eternally into a smile. Some night's he didn't feel like he could smile back at her, but tonight he did.

"I'm sure that Renji has found him, Masaki," he whispered to the photo. "One day soon I will be able to hold our son in my arms again. I miss you, my love."

TBC


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

A/N: And I give you… Shirtless Renji!

As soon as Renji had slipped back through the illegal Senkaimon that Urahara had created for him - it had taken all of the dirt he had been able to dig up on the Research and Development Institute, but at least he didn't owe the shopkeeper anything - he made a beeline for the 42nd district. He had asked Urahara to drop him off in Inuzuri. It wasn't a particularly suspicious drop off point as he and Rukia did still visit, and the shopkeeper gained a knowing glint in his eye the second Renji had asked. The redhead thought that the shopkeeper suspected he was visiting old friends. Renji wasn't going to be telling him anything different any time soon. It was about an hour's walk from the 78th to the 42nd if you took the shortcut through the woods, provided that you didn't run into any trouble.

The walk served to clear Renji's head, and it was rather gratifying to see the gangs of thugs that moved through the forest. It started to drizzle before he was halfway there, and he turned up on Ichigo's doorstep soaking wet. Ichigo took one look at him, sighed and then slid the door fully open and stood to one side.

"Drip there for a while," he ordered. "I'll get you a towel for your hair." Brown eyes peered more closely at his shihakusho. "Take that off too, I'll hang it up to dry."

Renji tugged his soaked shihakusho from his hakama, setting the pictures carefully on the edge of the floor, where hopefully they wouldn't get any wetter than they already were. He peeled the soggy garment from his shoulders, and turned to see Ichigo staring at him with his mouth open, the cloth in his hands forgotten.

"I… didn't realise that you had so many tattoos," Ichigo said, his eyes glued to Renji's chest in fascination, tracing the bold black lines that marked his skin. "Were you a Yakuza while you were alive?"

Renji laughed. "No, I died when I was a kid. I grew up in the 78th district of Rukongai, we called it Inuzuri. I got the tattoos gradually, after I became a Shinigami.

"Oh." Ichigo seemed to recover enough to pass the towel he was holding to Renji and take his wet shihakusho. He hung it from a nail driven in to one of the wonky shelves that someone had hammered firmly into the wall.

"I brought you these," Renji said, hanging the fabric around his neck to catch the drips from his hair and picking up the stack of photos. "Some pictures to help you remember."

"I remember Yuzu and Karin," Ichigo informed him. "But not much other than that. I keep on having nightmares about fighting, mostly fighting monsters."

Renji sat cross-legged by the fire pit, holding the pictures in his lap, and after a moment's hesitation, Ichigo joined him. "Those are probably memories," Renji said thoughtfully. "If you describe your enemies, I might be able to tell you about them."

Ichigo nodded and stared into the fire. "There's a guy - or it might be a girl, it's hard to tell - who cries green tears wearing a white helmet, and a crazy man with bright blue hair who laughs a lot and has fangs."

"Ulquiorra Schiffer and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez," Renji explained. "They were both Espada working under Aizen. You defeated them both while trying to save one of your friends who had been kidnapped, Inoue Orihime."

"I've also dreamt about two men wearing white. One had brown hair but his eyes were all purple, and the other never opened his eyes and had a really creepy smile. The guy with purple eyes was somehow worse though."

Renji nodded. "That's Aizen Souske, he was a real arsehole. Creepy smily guy is Ichimaru Gin, who turned out to be on our side in the end. Aizen and Ichimaru were Shinigami Captains, Aizen betrayed us and Gin followed him. We thought he had defected too, but it turns out that he was trying to make Aizen trust him so that he could stab him in the back."

"Only he stabbed him in the front," Ichigo replied without thinking.

A wide grin spread across Renji's face. "You remember?"

"I think so, I remember that. What's that sweet smell?"

Renji pulled out the small tin of rock cakes and passed it over. "A taste of your little sister's baking," he explained. "From what I've heard, it's pretty tasty."

They munched on rock cakes while Renji tried to explain about their trip to Las Noches and the war afterwards, as he figured that a little clarification to the background of Ichigo's dreams might make them less scary. Renji wasn't sure if it was a good sign or a bad one that Ichigo was remembering the negative things first. He made a mental note to look it up.

"They do taste familiar," Ichigo said, licking crumbs on his fingers in a way that Renji found strangely alluring. "I think it's my mother's recipe, not Yuzu's."

"They're delicious."

"Yuzu always was a good cook, although Dad did all the cooking right after mother died…" he tailed off, staring into the fire. Renji ate the last of his cake as quietly as he could, trying not to disturb him.

"If my mother is dead, does that mean that she is here somewhere?" Ichigo asked next.

Renji shook his head. "From what I remember, her soul was eaten by a hollow. She didn't get a chance to move on." The red head looked around, searching for a new, less depressing, topic. His eyes fell on the stack of framed photos in his lap. "Here, I brought these for you," he said, holding them out. Ichigo took the pile of pictures hesitantly, and spread them out on the floor in front of his knees, the frames scraping against the unpolished wood.

"That's mum and dad," he said with certainty. "And I already remembered Yuzu and Karin - not that it isn't nice to have a photograph of them. This other picture is harder. Are those my friends?"

"Some of them. I couldn't see one with Ishida in it."

Ichigo picked up the picture and studied it closely. "The girl with dark hair is Tatsuki, I think. No, I'm pretty sure." He looked up at Renji with nervous eyes. "Am I right?"

Renji nodded. "Yeah, that's Arisawa Tatsuki," he confirmed. "Do you recognise the other guy?"

Ichigo shook his head. "I don't know him at all."

"You've known Tatsuki for longer," Renji said. "Since you were very small, but you're pretty close to him too. Are you sure that you don't remember?" he asked as calmly as he could. Inside he felt sick - if Ichigo couldn't even remember Chad, what if he never remembered anyone more recent? Although he had remembered Aizen and Ichimaru, but then battles did tend to stick in the mind. What if he only remembered the bad things not the good ones? Although he and Renji had fought quite a lot, so perhaps that meant that he would remember, but only see him as an enemy? Ichigo's next words completely derailed Renji's panicked train of thought and replaced his fear with confusion.

"All I can think of is a bird," the teenager said. "That's all that comes to mind when I see the picture, a little bird."

Renji shrugged. "I have no idea what a bird has to do with him, but it might relate to something from before I met you."

"I hope so," Ichigo said, smiling wrying. "Because it sounds pretty crazy to me, and I would hate to be a madman."

When Renji returned to the barracks, trying his best to hide how tired he was from the rank and file, he came face to face with his Captain. The normal look of aloof disdain on the Noble's face seemed to soften ever so slightly at the sight of his Vice-Captain.

"Abarai-fukutaicho, I have my men searching Rukongai on a daily basis for Kurosaki Ichigo. There is no need for you to wear yourself out doing the same."

"Uh… my apologies, Captain," Renji replied, bowing for good measure. "I do not doubt the capabilities of your men."

"But you are a man of action and hate to wait for others," Kuchiki said, an almost imperceptible tone of amusement in his calm voice. "You have the afternoon off. I cannot spare you this morning. Please report to the Manor at lunch time."

"Captain?" Renji questioned. Although he had been ordered to report to the Kuchiki manor before, it was usually if his Captain was so tied up by the affairs of the other Kuchiki's that he couldn't make it in to his office.

"Rukia has been complaining at dinner for three days," his Captain continued. "She has been attempting to converse with you for a week. You _will_ report to the Manor at midday for lunch."

"Yes Sir!"

To Renji's relief, the task that his Captain could not spare him from turned out to be a large pile of paperwork and a grounds inspection. Despite the fact that the pile was so large he couldn't see over the top of it when he sat at his desk, the majority of the stack was taken up by sub forms attached to forms, and the whole lot was gone by midmorning. Wondering if his Captain had planned it that way, Renji napped for an hour before heading outside to do the inspection, along with the 10th seat.

Once they had finished, Renji headed back to his quarters to change into a fresh uniform before going to the Manor. He could still remember the first time he went there straight from a training session, and it wasn't a mistake he was going to make again. He thought that the old servant who always answered the door might actually kill him the next time, not just look like he really wanted to.

A brisk walk through the streets brought him to the Manor. The Kuchiki estate was the closest estate to the barracks and training grounds of the Gotei 13. Renji thought that it probably had something to do with their long tradition of producing Captains, but it might have just been coincidence.

The first surprise was that the old servant wasn't the one who opened the gate for him. The tall wooden structure usually glided back ponderously, guided by the old man's hands. This time it shot to the side so quickly that the frame shuddered, and Renji was confronted immediately with the violet eyes of his childhood friend.

"Renji!" she screeched. "Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to talk to you for _days_, no-one in your squad seemed to have a clue where you were, and Shuuhei and Kira were really evasive when I asked them this last night!"

Renji heaved a purely mental sigh and heard Zabimaru snicker in the back of his mind. He needed to think of some good excuses and he needed to think of them fast. He thought hard and looked Rukia squarely in the eye, which served to cut off her continued rant. Just as he opened his mouth, intending to say something brilliant and witty that would hopefully stall her for long enough for him to think up something good, alarms started to blare out from the Research and Development Institute.

Seconds later, a hell butterfly landed on the finger Renji held out for it. "All Captains, Vice-Captains and seated officers to report immediately to the Research and Development Institute," came the dispassionate voice of Kurotsuchi Nemu. "All other Shinigami to return to their barracks and await further orders."

The butterfly fluttered off, and Renji reached out to ruffle Rukia's hair. She smiled briefly, and a second later the entrance to the Kuchiki Estate was deserted as they both flash-stepped in opposite directions.

TBC


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo.

A/N: Sorry for the wait, everyone. Real life got in the way.

Ichigo was restless. It had been days since the Shinigami had last visited, and he didn't really want to admit it to himself, but he was worried. There were strange rumours flying around, carried by the many travelling salesmen that wandered through the different districts. There were reports of more monster attacks, and strange beings had been glimpsed, beings that were there one minute and vanished the next.

It didn't help that his sleep had been plagued by unrelenting nightmares. He woke several times during the night, his blankets twisted around him and soaked in sweat. After each nightmare he remembered more, and as the days passed with no sign of his red-headed nuisance, he started to think about journeying to find him himself.

Ichigo was pretty sure that he remembered the basics, if not the specifics. He knew that there were some faces that he trusted, others that he admired, and a few that he disliked intensely. He didn't seem to have mixed feelings about any of the figures in his dreams. He spent his days repairing houses and practising with Zangetsu in a clearing in the woods. He often caught himself talking to the blade, and when he wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying, sometimes he thought that the sword answered.

Ten days after the Shinigami had last visited a large explosion thundered across the dimension. Everyone in Rukongai dropped what they were doing and stared at the heavens with wide eyes as ugly tears ripped the sky open, and grasping, skeletal hands pushed their way through.

Ichigo gave up on thought and let his instincts take over. He found himself racing through the streets, dodging petrified souls as he moved faster and faster towards the battlefield.

An odd feeling of exultation rose in his soul. "_Finally!_" he heard a voice whisper.

"Shut up," he replied, pushing his body even faster until he was able to bounce onto the rooftops and skim his way through the air.

"_You haven't used Shunpo in a while, King,_" cautioned the voice. "_Take it easy, eh?_"

Ichigo suppressed the stab of surprise that distracted him before he tripped and broke his neck. He shut out the voices in his head, and focused his eyes on the Hollow invading Seireitai, watching the far away flashes of reiatsu and savouring the feeling of familiarity.

This was what he lived for. This was what he was meant to do. Hurtle towards danger without looking back to protect those who sheltered behind him.

He was no-where near the main battle when he encountered the first Hollows. They were weak, easily dispatched and destroying the buildings lining the street as they searched for souls to consume. Zangetsu became and extension of his arm as he danced between their disfigured bodies, dodging their clumsy swings and leaving them to turn to dust in his wake.

Seconds later he came across the low-level Shinigami who had been sent to dispatch the small fry. He didn't recognise any of their faces, and moved on quickly before they had time to look up from their own battles to question his involvement in their fight. He wasn't exactly wearing the right Uniform after all. He left them to dispatch the rest of the Hollow and headed onward, towards the fiery beacons of reitasu that seemed to call out to him. A wild grin stretched the corners of his mouth, and he could feel his own power crackling around him as he sped forwards.

Xxx

Renji was stressed. The war that had been raging for over a week was not going well. The Arrancar had managed to raise a shield of sorts to block their way into Hueco Mundo – it only worked if you were trying to travel from Soul Society, but leap-frogging troops through the land of the living had turned into a logistical nightmare even though the state of emergency had allowed them to use the private Senkaimon of the Noble houses – and now their enemy had staged a full scale assault into their dimension which made him wonder just how powerful they really were. He suspected that the plans he had overheard had been quickly revised once the Arrancar had figured out how to lock them out.

As soon as the alarms had sounded he and his Captain had sprung into action, each leading a third of the division into battle, the final third composing of the greenest troops lead by some of the older veterans were left to guard the court. Renji had split the Division into squads of ten months ago, and he quickly sent most of his command out to kill the Hollow that flooded the streets of Rukongai. He kept two squads with him to watch his back as he attempted to take a selection of their more powerful assailants. He didn't dare use Bankai, there were too many innocents hiding in the buildings and the rubble all around him, and didn't want to have to live with the grief called 'collateral damage' if he could help it.

An Arrancar with burning yellow eyes and a nasty looking spear casually skewered the Shinigami fighting next to him. Renji quickly stepped in front of the bleeding man and squared off against his new opponent, hoping to buy him enough time to get to one of the Fourth. He bared his teeth in a savage grin and watched the Arrancar's face grow angry at the sight of the blood dripping from Zabimaru's blade.

A split second later the Arrancar leapt into the air, fire crackling around the spear as it aimed straight for Renji's heart. The lieutenant batted the weapon away with contemptuous ease and slammed the wielder into a nearby wall. He was about to step forward to finish the job, when a jolt of familiar reiatsu from the other side of the battlefield stopped him in his tracks.

"Ichigo?"

It turned out that letting oneself become distracted in the middle of a battle was a bad idea. The next thing Renji knew, something large and dark was descending on the top of his head, and he hadn't noticed in time to dodge.

Xxx

Ichigo wasn't sure what he expected to happen once the battle had ended and the last Hollow had been defeated, but he was pretty sure that he had expected the red-headed Shinigami to be there. The actuality was somewhat opposite; he was surrounded by half-familiar faces all chattering at once, and there was a distinct lack of tattoos evident.

"Ichigo, we thought that we'd never find you!" a tall blonde woman with breasts that should have been illegal cooed. The short boy wearing a white haiori standing beside her sighed in exasperation and crossed his arms, his white hair matted with blood.

"Matsumoto, now is not the time!" he scowled.

"But Captain-"

"We need to take him to see Unohana-taicho before Zaraki Kenpatchi realises that he's here. Come, Kurosaki. Please follow me."

Ichigo swung Zangetsu onto his back and followed the shorter boy through the wreckage of the battlefield. Members of the fourth division scurried everywhere, and one of them with straight black hair and sad eyes stared at him with a look of disbelieving joy plastered over his face – before the screams of an injured Shinigami brought his attention back to the many wounded surrounding him.

The ebb and flow of the fight had taken them close to the walls of Seireitai, and it didn't take long for them to reach one of the gates.

"The Fourth Divison will have manned the healing stations next to each of the gates," the young Captain escorting him explained. "I think we will find Unohana-taicho here, but if not her Lieutenant Isane-san is just as captable."

"Um... what's your name?" Ichigo asked, feeling more than a little awkward but not wanting to carry on not knowing. "I recognise your face," he clarified hastily as the Shinigami turned to look at him with an expression of dismay. "I'm just really bad at names."

"My name is Hitsugaya Toshiro," the Shinigami replied. "If you will pardon my rudeness, how did you know to come and fight with us if you don't remember any of us?"

Ichigo shook his head. "I remember enough to know why I fight," he explained. "I remember my friends from the living world, and a lot of my Shinigami friends. I remember my sisters and my mum and dad. I remember Kuchiki Rukia. Everything after her brother took her back to Seireitai is a bit blurry though. I have a lot of nightmares. I think I'm piecing it back together."

"So you remember your childhood better than you remember your recent past?" Hitsugaya nodded. "That makes sense. Things would have been very traumatic for your mind after Kuchiki-san was arrested, I am not surprised that that is the period that you are having the most trouble remembering."

"Do you think Unohana-taicho will be able to help me remember?" Ichigo's heart sank as Hitsugaya shook his head.

"We have rarely had to try to recover memories," he explained. "Normally to forget is a blessing for one who has passed on. It is part of the cycle. You, however, have always been a special case."

"Hitsugaya-san, can you please answer one question for me?"

"Of course, if I can."

"How did I die?"

A/N: Sorry this is a bit short... the majority of this chapter was really, REALLY out of my 'writing in comfort' zone. Still, at least the plot has advanced, right? I'll try not to make you wait so long next time for an update!


	12. Chapter 11

A/N: Bleach is still the property of Tite Kubo...

Rukia searched the battered streets frantically, looking for a glimpse of flame-red hair. Renji had been missing for over an hour, and everyone seemed to be preoccupied with some commotion at the other gate. Judging by the amount of people cheerfully heading that way and the confusion of powerful reiatsu just beyond the gate itself it must have been something important, but Rukia didn't care. Renji was missing, and all she wanted was to see his stupid face. If he had managed to get himself eaten by a hollow she would never forgive him.

Finally she caught the faint thread of his reiatsu emanating from the other side of a large pile of rubble. Hope blossomed in her chest as she searched for a way around, but she quickly realised that the easiest path was going to be the most direct. As she her scrambled over the top she tripped on a protruding beam and tore her shihakusho across both knees. Cursing to herself over her third ruined uniform in as many months, she struggled to her feet and inspected her new grazes, wondering how much they were going to sting once her adrenaline burst faded. She proceeded to climb down the other side of the rubble heap a little more slowly, as she didn't really want to see her brother's face when he heard that she had broken her neck trying to rescue his Lieutenant from the battlefield.

Renji was easy to spot, lying unconscious with Zabimaru unsheathed on the ground next to him. He was so dirty that it was hard to tell what was dust and what was bruises, and his hair had come loose, spreading around his shoulders like a pool of blood. It wasn't until she dropped to her knees next to him that she realised that it wasn't an illusion, Renji's hair was soaked in blood dripping steadily from a head wound. His normally tanned skin was ashen under all the dirt, and he was barely breathing.

Rukia's anguished scream echoed over the battlefield. Hanataro immediately changed direction and began to run.

Ichigo found himself surrounded by people and quite uncomfortable about it. There seemed to be an endless queue of strangers who wanted to slap him on the back or shoulder and let him know how happy they were that he had been found. He had a suspicion that he didn't even know half of them, but he wasn't really in a position to ask. He found himself looking over the heads of the crowd for bright red spikes, but his nameless Shinigami friend was no-where to be seen.

"Who are you looking for, Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya asked, standing by his side as his bubbly Lieutenant tried to stop the crowd of curious Shinigami from crushing the pair.

Ichigo shook his head. "I don't know his name. I met him in Rukongai, he is a Shinigami and he knew me. He started helping me to remember."

"Why didn't he bring you back here with him?" Hitsugaya frowned.

"Because I wouldn't have remembered anyone, or how to fight."

Hitsugaya chewed on his lip. "I suppose that makes sense, there are a lot of strong personalities here. Zaraki-taicho would not have taken kindly to your sudden memory loss."

Ichigo nodded and returned to scanning the crowd. He wished that there had been time to finish his conversation with Hitsugaya-taicho, but as soon as he had finished asking the question that had been pressing on his mind for weeks, they had been ambushed by a skinhead and an effeminate man with feathers sprouting from his eyebrow shrieking something about his return being beautiful. He didn't want to ask again about what would probably prove to be a touchy subject while surrounded by over-excited strangers.

Once things had calmed down and most of the crowd had dispersed, Ichigo found himself surrounded by familiar faces.

"You're coming with me," a man with straight blond hair told him. "I'm Hirako Shinji, as your blank look tells me you don't have a clue at the moment."

"Why you?" Ichigo asked. "Why not one of the others?"

"Because Urahara-san is in the world of the living, and I can't see Kuchiki anywhere," was the blond's explanation. Ichigo was able to put names to both faces, and found that he was unexpectedly pleased with himself. He didn't recognise the blond at all.

Hitsugaya sighed. "Kurosaki, you don't have to go with him if you don't want to. Any of the Gotei 13 would be happy to have you, although I would advise steering clear of the 11th and 12th."

"I... would like to find Kuchiki Rukia," Ichigo said. "I remember her."

Shinji rolled his eyes. "Ok, I'll take you to the 13th. She's bound to turn up there eventually. Does that meet with your approval, Chibi-taicho?" he asked mockingly.

"Don't make me tell Hiyori you said that," Hitsugaya said calmly. "Matsumoto! Time to go!"

Ichigo shortly found himself following the strange blond and listening to his stream of apparently irrelevant chatter. They wove their way briskly through the defensive street maze, often taking unusual short cuts.

"The 13th isn't all that far away," Shinji told him once they had been walking for about ten minutes. "Ukitake-taicho will be pleased to see you. Of course, everyone is pleased to see you. I hope you haven't lost any of your old skills, your reiatsu feels a little different. Do you remember me at all?"

Ichigo thought hard. "A little," he said uncertainly. "I think I remember something about flip-flops."

The blond skidded to a halt and turned to face him. "What?"

"You're connected in my head. Your face has something to do with flip-flops."

A strange expression passed over the Shinigami's face, and Ichigo was immeasurably relieved when the other man burst out laughing. "Of all the things to remember about me, you remember Hiyori smacking me in the face with her shoe?" he gasped incredulously. "You really are a head-case, Ichigo!"

Ichigo found himself smiling at the other man's hilarity, and found that he had relaxed a little. Something about the winding streets had had him on edge, but now he found himself relaxing slightly. "Come on, if you don't stop laughing it will be sunset before we arrive," he pointed out.

"Shut up, we're nearly there," his companion retorted. "It's only two streets away now."

The grounds of the thirteenth division were unfamiliar, but the calming presence of the white haired man sitting on the steps meant that Ichigo immediately felt at peace.

"Kurosaki-kun, it is nice to see you," he said. "Would you like some tea?"

"Yes please, Ukitake-taicho," Ichigo said formally, bowing.

"Shinji-san, will you join us?"

Shinji shook his head. "Naww, I'd best be getting back. There's a lot of people with a lot of questions after all."

"I understand. Some other time then?" As Ukitake talked to Shinji, his hands were busy preparing a second cup of tea, which he passed to Ichigo. Once the blond Captain had left, he turned to his guest with a smile. "You are here looking for Rukia, correct?"

Ichigo nodded, and sipped at his tea. "I remember her."

Ukitake looked out over the gardens with a faint smile on his face. "How extensive was the memory loss?" he asked. Ichigo found himself staring into his tea cup as if it held the secrets of the universe. "You do not have to tell me if you do not wish to," the older man amended, once the silence had stretched a little longer than was normal.

"I couldn't remember anyone," Ichigo confessed. "But then I started having nightmares. And I met a Shinigami, he visited me and helped a lot. He gave me pictures of my family, and told me things that happened to me. I remember a lot, but there are still gaps."

"You may never remember everything," Ukitake said sadly. "But you have regained more than most. Of course, you were always a special case."

"Who is Rukia to you?" Ichigo asked. "I think my information is out of date."

Ukitake laughed, and then coughed. Ichigo started to worry when the coughing fit did not abate, and found himself moving over to steady the other man.

"Rukia is my Lieutenant now, I am very proud of her progress," Ukitake said once he had caught his breath. "She is still cleaning up the battlefield and locating the wounded, I believe. She should be back soon."

Several hours passed, and a second Shinigami captain arrived bearing a large bottle of sake. He seemed to be being stalked by a disapproving woman wearing glasses, but Ichigo wasn't sure.

"Ichigo! It is good to have you back!" he said enthusiastically, thrusting a sake dish into Ichigo's hand. "Come, drink with me."

"I'm sorry," Ichigo said awkwardly. "Who are you?"

Ukitake's subsequent coughing fit was bad enough that several seated officers rushed into the room in a panic to make sure he was all right. Laughing between the coughs, Ukitake waved them all out again gently.

"I am fine, truly," he reassured. "Kurosaki-san is just having some troubles with his memory at the moment, and they amuse me."

"How much longer do you think Rukia will be?" Ichigo asked once they were alone again.

"She still isn't back?" Kyouraku asked, surprised. "That's odd."

"It is a little," Ukitake admitted, frowning. "I think I will send a butterfly."

Kyoraku insisted that 'lightweight' drinkers like Ichigo had to have snacks with their sake, and the three Shinigami ended up eating a light dinner while they waited for a response from Rukia.

"The old man will want to see you in the morning," Kyouraku observed from under his hat. He was lounging with the outdated straw monstrosity pulled it over his face so that anyone who looked into the room would think he was napping. Ichigo wondered if it was a habit or if it had something to do with the brunette he had spotted lurking in the garden earlier, a pile of folders in her arms.

"I'm surprised he hasn't called you in already," Ukitake admitted, serving himself a second bowl of rice. "The damage must have been pretty bad."

"It was," Ichigo confirmed. "I'd like to say I've never seen anything like it, but then my dreams would prove me a liar. I only remember my fights in nightmares at the moment."

"I think that's fairly normal," Ukitake reassured him. "From what I know, the battles that you have fought have never been easy."

At that moment a hell butterfly flew through the open window and hovered by Ukitake's head. A second later Rukia's familiar voice filled the room. She sounded as if she had been crying.

"_Ukitake-taicho, my apologies for my tardiness,_" the message began. "_Abarai-fukutaicho has been badly injured. I am currently at the 4__th__ division, and I intend to stay here until Unohana-taicho has finished, if you will permit it_."

Kyouraku stood in a flurry of pink fabric. "Come on Ichigo," he said, not a trace of his former drunken brevity present in his tone. "Your friends need you."


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

The fourth division was filled to the rafters with groaning, blood-stained Shinigami. Thin emergency futons lay everywhere, the majority of them stained with blood. Ichigo shuddered as the familiar smell invaded his nostrils, and followed the short Shinigami with apologetic eyes that had appeared as soon as they had arrived and offered to take them to 'Abarai-fukutaicho's room' closely.

As soon as he entered the small sick room, he was knocked out of it again by a small bundle that seemed to be composed of black fabric, bony limbs and brick dust. He automatically caught the sobbing girl, who seemed perfectly content to cry into his stomach, and for a second was fiercely reminded of the rare moments when Karin broke down and wept. His hand fell onto her head of its own accord, and he combed the debris from her silky hair with his fingers.

"I-Ichigo, I thought I'd never see you again," the girl sniffed, pulling back and wiping her dusty hands over her face. "I'm glad you're here."

She opened large, purple eyes, and a wave of relief washed through Ichigo as he realised that he recognised her. "Rukia... I'm sorry it took me so long to remember."

She punched him half-heartedly on the shoulder. "Don't be an idiot. I'm just happy to see you again. How much do you remember? People usually forget everything."

Ichigo followed her back into the room, forming a brief explanation in his head, but his thoughts scattered the moment he saw the still figure lying in the western style hospital bed, crimson hair scattered across the white sheets. The memories hit him like a smack in the face, and he finally remembered.

"Renji..."

Rukia smiled at him. "Unohana-taicho hasn't been in to visit him yet, although Hanataro-kun checks in regularly. We think that he hit his head."

"I... you... he..." Ichigo found that he was completely unable to form a coherent sentence, and slumped into the nearest chair, uncaring of the hard edges of the sword on his back, his eyes fixed on the quiet face of his friend and comrade. "I didn't remember him," he whispered.

"Ichigo, are you all right?" Rukia asked, kneeling next to the chair and peering anxiously into his face. "Should I call Unohana-taicho?"

"No... it's all right," Ichigo replied, his eyes still fixed on Renji. "It's just a bit of a shock. I didn't remember him, even after I'd remembered all the other important people. Why couldn't I remember Renji? "

"Ichigo, I don't understand," Rukia complained.

"I have nightmares," Ichigo told her. "I have nightmares about fighting monsters, and after the nightmares I remember things. I remember my family and my friends, and I remembered you. But I didn't remember Renji, even though he was right there."

Rukia frowned. "What are you talking about? Renji was where?"

Ichigo stared into her worried, uncomprehending eyes, and realised that Renji hadn't told her anything. "He found me, in Rukongai. He recognised me, and I had no idea who he was. I punched him."

Rukia laughed shakily. "Not too dissimilar to your usual behaviour then," she joked weakly. "If he found you, why didn't he bring you back with him?"

He could tell that she was trying to understand before she got angry with her unconscious friend, and he hastened to explain. "Because I didn't remember anything. He said that it would be safer to wait until I remembered more. Then I felt the attack, and decided to come myself."

Rukia's eyes searched his face, and then focused on the hilt protruding from behind his shoulder. "Have you had Zangetsu with you since you arrived?" she asked.

Ichigo shook his head. "Not at first," he explained. "I was fighting with Renji in the garden, and I reached for him without thinking. He materialised, I passed out, and Renji had to drag me back inside." Ichigo shivered, and rubbed his hands over his face. "Rukia, I would like to ask you something," he said carefully.

"Of course, Ichigo," she replied instantly. "What do you need to know?"

"How did I die?"

Ichigo knew that it was a difficult and possibly inappropriate question before he asked it, but he had reasoned that his was a special case. What he thought were his most recent memories involved running errands for a madwoman, and fighting beside a man whose necklace turned into a sword. He expected Rukia to be upset, he expected a tearful story about how he had been run over by a bus, or had died fighting a hollow. He didn't expect all of the colour to fade from Rukia's face as she seemed to shrink into herself. She answered in a whisper so soft that he could barely hear it.

"I killed you."

"What?"

Rukia glanced up at him, her expressive eyes dull. "Urahara-san had a plan to return your Shinigami powers to you," she explained woodenly. "There were risks involved... we did not ask your permission. We couldn't, because you could no longer see us. The power we transferred did make you a Shinigami again, but it also destroyed your body." Rukia shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes starting to glisten. "I ran you though with a reiatsu blade, and I murdered you. I'm sorry."

Ichigo stared at her for a long moment, and then stared at Renji, unconscious on the bed. A maelstrom of emotion was whirling into life in his chest, and he knew that he owed it to his friends to process what he had been told before he reacted. He stood abruptly, and Rukia tumbled away from his side, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Ichigo, I'm sorry-" she began, but he held up a hand and cut her off.

"I have to go."

Xxx

Ichigo found his way by memory and instinct to the hidden training ground where he had achieved Bankai. Once he was there, safe and hidden, he felt secure enough to rage and kick and scream as he wanted to. He sent curving arcs of red edged darkness at the walls and ceiling, shoving the falling debris away from his body using sheer power. Once the destruction was complete, he sat on the edge of a jagged crevasse he had carved in the floor and shook.

He was dead, and his allies, his friends had killed him. The betrayal was complete. He shuddered, staring at the opposite wall without seeing it. He was dead.

He felt the whisper of his zapakuto's presence, and a deep voice in his ear. "Ichigo," the sword said calmly. "You are making it rain again. It does not need to rain."

"I'm sorry, old man," Ichigo replied. "But... I can't..."

"You can, Ichigo," the sword chastised gently. "You know that if you had been able to choose, the outcome would have been the same."

"But I didn't get to choose!" Ichigo protested.

"No... but that merely means that you were not able to anticipate. And as you do not remember the time that you regained your powers, if the choice had been offered to you, you would not remember it now."

Ichigo shook his head. "I do remember one thing," he objected.

Zangetsu nodded. "I know."

There was a strange shivering in his soul as the spirit dematerialised, and Ichigo was alone again. He kicked his feet over the edge of the crevasse, and thought about that single memory. It was a new one, one that had come to him when he saw Renji lying unconscious, traces of the battlefield still staining his face and hair.

A single image, Renji reaching out for him, his dark eyes terrified and pleading, as the rest of the world faded away into painful darkness.

"I remember dying," Ichigo said to the empty room. He waited to see if there would be an answer from Zangetsu, but the sword was silent. The large room was suddenly too vast to be comfortable. Ichigo climbed to his feet and swung the sword back onto his back.

Zangetsu's voice whispered into his ear; "Now it is time to live."

A/N: Apologies for the long wait for this chapter. I think we're approaching the end of the story, and I am considering taking the yaoi warning off, and keeping it Gen. I'd appreciate some feedback on that – should I develop Renji and Ichigo's interaction into a relationship, or should I leave it as friendship?


	14. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

xxx

Renji woke slowly, the white light that always seemed to fill the rooms of the fourth division seeping through his eyelids. His head was throbbing, the pain centred behind his left ear, and he could hear someone crying. They were crying quietly, sniffing and stifling sobs. Renji was pretty sure that his condition wasn't severe enough to warrant tears. He lay with his eyes closed, trying to figure out just what he had been doing before he was hit on the head.

There had been an alarm, and Rukia had been there. Then he had been fighting a really obnoxious hollow who had insulted his hair, and then another annoying hollow who had insulted his tattoos. Then he had been hit on the head, which was unusual, so something must have distracted him. What could have distracted him? It had been something familiar… but unexpected. He remembered the feeling of surprise being cancelled out by the pain as he was struck. What had it been?

Whatever it was, it had made Rukia cry. Renji opened his eyes.

Rukia was tucked into the corner of the windowsill, her cheeks wet with tears. He could see that she was searching the buildings below for something, and he couldn't tell from her expression whether she was hopeful or afraid that she would see what she was looking for.

"Rukia?"

His childhood friend turned and gifted him with a shaky smile. "Renji."

"I'm pretty sure those tears aren't for me," Renji teased. "What's got you so upset?"

"Ichigo joined the fight."

"I know, he distracted me with that damn reiatsu of his, that's how I got knocked out," Renji explained, not wanting her to think that he was normally that easy to take out.

"He asked me how he died."

Silence fell as Renji bit his lip to keep from swearing. It was a question that he had known that Ichigo had wanted to ask, and one that he really hadn't felt comfortable answering. It would have been better coming from someone like Urahara, someone who could attempt to make the best of a dreadful situation. He could imagine the scene, Rukia would have fallen apart just telling him. It was somehow worse than the whole messed up situation with Kaien had been. At least Kaien had asked for it and forgiven her, from the look on her face Ichigo had just been mad - and who could blame him?

"Come here," Renji said, patting the side of the bed. "You're so tiny, there's enough room for you."

As Rukia's slight form settled into his side, he was reminded of when they were children, curling up in Rukongai during the long winter nights. "We'll get through this," he said, echoing the words of his younger self.

"You're an idiot," Rukia whispered back, and her reply let him know that she was thinking of the same thing.

Xxx

Rukia had left to ferret out some proper food for them both when he received his next visitor. The door slammed open to reveal the always imposing sight of Kurosaki Ichigo, back in his Shinigami uniform with extra black straps adorning his wrists and chest. Renji couldn't quite make out which emotions were blazing from his brown eyes, and he hoped that he wasn't about to get punched. His head ached enough as it was.

"I remember you, Renji," Ichigo said, stepping over the threshold, his reiatsu filling the small space. Renji worried that Ichigo had perhaps not remembered everything, and thought that he was an enemy, as he had when they first met. "I remember meeting you, fighting with you and fighting against you," Ichigo continued. Renji breathed a silent sigh of relief, until he noticed that Ichigo's fists were clenched and there was an angry edge to the reiatsu sweeping around the room. "And do you know when I remembered you?" Ichigo asked through gritted teeth.

"No?"

"When I saw you lying unconscious in that damn hospital bed!" Ichigo roared.

"I'm… sorry?" Renji apologised. Ichigo stormed towards him, and Renji tensed himself for pain. He fully expected to be punched in the face. He realised later that he should have been prepared for the unexpected; it was impossible to plan for Ichigo's actions because the teenager himself didn't know what he was going to to before he did it. Renji expected a fight, what he got was an armful of trembling Ichigo cursing into his neck.

"…Thought you were dead you stupid, stubborn bastard. Just when I remembered, when I knew what you bloody meant to me you were in this fucking bed…"

Renji tuned out the cursing and focused instead on running his hand over Ichigo's shoulder, trying to calm him down. He could only use one hand; Ichigo had gripped the other so tightly it almost hurt, although Renji suspected that he didn't even realise that he was holding it. The fabric under his fingers was dirty, covered in small rocks, sand and dust. Ichigo must have been letting off steam in Urahara's secret training room. Ichigo's wild orange spikes were also filled with grit, and Renji found himself combing it out with his fingers, the springy hair bouncing back into place as his nails scraped through it. A small rain of dust fell onto the white sheets.

"You need a bath," he said absently, interrupting Ichigo's rant. The former substitute Shinigami chucked and pulled away to sit on the edge of the mattress, rubbing his grimy hands over his face.

"I know, I had a fight with some rocks."

Renji bit his lip. "Are you mad at me?"

Ichigo's brown eyes widened in surprise. "Why would I be mad at you?" he asked.

"I… didn't tell you the truth straight away," Renji said. "I didn't tell you how you died."

Ichigo shook his head. "You did the right thing. It was bad enough remembering in stages, I don't think knowing everything from the start without remembering the emotions that came with each event would have been a good thing."

Renji nodded, trying not to show how tense he still felt. "Do you remember the last fight?" he asked. He watched Ichigo's face carefully as the teen studied the sheets he was sitting on, and was surprised to see a faint blush colour his cheeks.

"I don't remember much of it," Ichigo said slowly. "But I remember you. I remember you reaching out for me as everything faded into pain."

Renji winced. "I'm sorry," he said. "That must be a horrible memory-"

"No," Ichigo interrupted. "It's a precious memory. It's a memory that means someone - you - cared enough to try and catch me. Everyone else was standing there looking guilty, you didn't look guilty, and you didn't stand still."

"Standing still is not my strong point," Renji said wryly in an attempt to make Ichigo smile and perhaps change the subject.

By the time Rukia returned with a tray of onigiri and a pot of tea, Ichigo had calmed down and Renji found that he was having to make an effort not to grin. He had known that Ichigo was safe for weeks, but that knowledge had not provoked the same feeling of joy that he was experiencing now that he knew that he had his Ichigo back.

Rukia stopped dead in the doorway, the tray rattling in her hands. "Ichigo... you came back."

Ichigo snorted. "Of course I did, you idiot.

Renji was quite interested in hearing what his two friends were going to say to one another, but at that moment the conversation was interrupted as Hitsugaya peered over Rukia's shoulder.

"Kurosaki, are you in here?" he asked. Blushing a little, Rukia stepped to one side and let the short Captain into the room. "Yamamoto-soutaicho wants to see you now."

Ichigo sighed and got off of the bed. Renji felt inexplicably colder without his friend's warm presence. "I should have expected it," he grumbled, turning to look Renji in the eye. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised.

"It's ok, duty calls and all that," Renji said as flippantly as he could manage, waving one bandaged hand. "Don't keep the old man waiting."

Ichigo started to follow Hitsugaya out of the door, but paused next to Rukia. "I forgive you," he said quietly, before stepping out. Rukia's expression of relief made Renji smile. He didn't know how she could have thought that Ichigo wouldn't forgive her.

"It seems that it might just work out," he teased her.

"Shut up, idiot," she replied automatically. "There's still a war to be fought."

Renji shrugged. "We have Ichigo back. Now I know we're going to win."

Xxx

Three weeks later and things had settled into a routine. The new residents of Las Noches had retreated back into the fortress, and the Shinigami squads now patrolled an established perimeter. There were still daily skirmishes, but it seemed that the enemy was taking time to heal wounds and formulate new plans. The Captains spent this time creating plans of their own, and Renji hoped that they were better plans. It made him angry when he thought too hard about how Aizen's influence had disrupted the balance of the worlds - large groups of Hollow invading Soul Society itself was unheard of. Hollow were created in the real world, caused a disruption and then were taken care of by Shinigami. Every few decades a particularly powerful Hollow would gather enough followers to be a problem, and then the Shinigami would mount an expedition to Hueco Mundo and take care of it. That was the way that things had been for centuries, and now one ambitious maniac had destroyed the natural cycle.

Thinking about it too much made Renji very, very angry, and so he tried not to think about it at all. Not thinking about the war was surprisingly easy when you had a former Substitute Shinigami sleeping in your quarters while he tried to figure out which Squad he wanted to join - the Captain Commander had offered to let him make up his own mind.

"The fourth seat at the eleventh is open," Renji pointed out from his position on the sofa. Ichigo was pacing up and down in front of the window, with only a week left to decide the pressure seemed to be getting to him.

Ichigo shook his head. "Working that close with Zaraki would terrify me."

"It's not that bad once you're in there," Renji assured him. "I don't think the thirteenth is an option, you look too much like their old Lieutenant, Kukaku's brother."

"I don't think I'm cut out for the second, fourth or twelth," Ichigo sighed. "What do the rest of the squads specialise in?"

Renji shrugged. "They tend to run more messages at the fifth, we do a lot of research at the sixth. The ninth is obsessed by that paper of theirs. If I were you I'd choose based on which Captain you'd be working under."

Ichigo sighed and flopped on the sofa next to Renji. "I'm really tempted to take the easy way out," he confessed.

"What's that?"

"Apply for the sixth so that I get to work with you."

Surprised, Renji looked up at his friend, and was astonished to see how serious Ichigo was being. "What?" he spluttered. "Why would you want to work with me?"

"Because I get the impression that until this recent crisis, the divisions didn't have much to do with one another."

Renji slouched into the sofa cushions and inspected the ceiling. "It was hard to make new friends outside of your division, that's true. But at the same time, when we're not fighting against organised maniacs, we have plenty of free time to socialise with friends already made. I still kept in contact with my friends from the Academy and the eleventh, even after I got moved to the sixth."

"So even if I moved to, say, the fifth, I would still get to see you?" Ichigo got up and started pacing again. Renji contemplated sprawling out, but he suspected that Ichigo would be sitting down again soon.

"I thought you still didn't remember Shinji?" Renji questioned.

"I don't," Ichigo admitted with a sigh, pausing to look out of the window.

"I wouldn't recommend choosing the fifth then," Renji advised. "There's far too much history there."

"Why do there have to be so many damn divisions to choose from?" Ichigo complained. "I have a headache."

"Perhaps you should talk to more people than just me about this," Renji suggested. His earlier prediction was proved accurate as Ichigo turned and sat next to him again.

"I trust your decisions," Ichigo told him, reaching over to lay a warm hand on his shoulder. Renji leaned into the touch, and before he realised they had both relaxed into a boneless sprawl across the cushions, with Ichigo's arm around Renji's shoulders.

"This is new," he commented before he could help himself.

"It's comfy," Ichigo replied sleepily, resting his head on top of Renji's. "And it seems to be helping my headache. Don't question a good thing."

"Must be a stress headache then," Renji observed.

"Shut up and relax."

Xxx

A/N: Longer chapter than usual, I hope you enjoyed! Any suggestions for which division Ichigo should pick?


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

A/N: Thanks to Procrastination Tomorrow for all the reviews, if you left an email address I would have been able to respond properly to them! :)

Ichigo stood in the meeting hall, the long full lines of Captains and Lieutenants stretching out in front of him. Although they all stood with military precision, staring straight ahead, he could tell that many of them were attempting to peer at him out of the corners of their eyes.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," Yamamoto boomed from his seat at the end of the hall. "It has been four weeks since your return to us. Have you made a decision?"

"I have, Yamamoto-soutaicho," Ichigo said, bowing from the waist. "With your permission and approval, I would like to join the First Division."

Muttering broke out from the ranks of astonished Shinigami, and Yamamoto rapped his staff on the floor three times. "Silence!" He ordered. Ichigo dared a glance into his face to gauge his reaction, and was relieved to see a twinkle of mirth in the old man's eyes. "I would be pleased to welcome Kurosaki Ichigo to the ranks of the First Division." Yamamoto continued. "I am sure that you will do us proud. Dismissed!"

Ichigo leant on the red balcony rail, staring over the golden pagoda roof of the meeting hall to the rest of Seireitai. He didn't have to turn to know that Renji was standing behind him, but his reiatsu reading skills were still so appalling that he would have to turn to know what his friend was thinking. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

The decision was taken from him as Renji abruptly stepped forward and gripped the rail next to him. "I'm going to miss you," he said quietly. "I don't think I realised quite how much I liked having you around, until I thought about you moving on."

"You'll still see me," Ichigo pointed out. "I'll be right here."

"It won't be the same," Renji said with a sigh. "There's not all that much contact between the different divisions, we'll have different duties, be patrolling different areas of Rukongai and the Living World."

"We'll have time off, won't we?"

Renji sighed. "Probably not at the same time."

Ichigo rubbed his hands over his face. "You're being very negative about this," he pointed out, trying to hold on to his temper. He had a feeling that it would be a battle swiftly lost.

"I'm going to miss you," Renji repeated.

Ichigo gave in to impulse, turned and punched Renji in the shoulder. "I'm right here!" he hissed through gritted teeth.

"Yes," Renji snarled, grabbing his arm and forcefully turning him to look over the rooftops. "And I'll be over there!"

Ichigo twisted, sweeping Renji's hand off and gripping his friend's biceps. "Why are you doing this?" he demanded. "Why do you have to make this more difficult than it needs to be? I made my choice!"

"And you didn't choose me!" Renji snapped.

Ichigo froze, suddenly realising how close their faces were. He stared into Renji's eyes, suddenly speechless. The wind caught at strands of loose red hair, sending them forward to stroke Ichigo's cheek. The former substitute Shinigami tried to think of something to say, but the words would not form in his head. He couldn't make any sense of the expressions crossing Renji's face.

"I am such an idiot," Renji muttered, breaking the silence. He shook Ichigo's hands away, and leapt over the flimsy rail, landing lightly on the walkway below. Ichigo watched him walk away, hoping for he did not know what. Renji didn't look back.

Three days later, Ichigo found himself standing outside of Renji's door. He had held out for as long as he could, but the Lieutentant still had most of his possessions in his quarters, and Ichigo was tired of trying to live without them. He raised his hand to knock, but the door swung open before his knuckles touched the wood. The sight of his friend caused a weight that he hadn't even noticed to lift from his chest, until he realised that Renji refused to look him in the eye. Then the weight of guilt settled back down as if it had never left.

"Hey," he said, trying not to sound as awkward as he felt. "I wanted to get my things."

Renji nodded. "I expected you earlier. I put everything in a box for you."

"Thank you."

"Not a problem. Next to the window."

Ichigo paused halfway across the room, and turned back to the redhead still standing by the door. "I don't want things to be like this between us," he said firmly. "I'd rather you were mad at me."

For the first time since their argument on the balcony, Renji's dark eyes met his own. "Are you nuts?" he asked. "Why would I be mad at you? Why would you want me to be?"

"Because anger shows you care," Ichigo explained, wishing that he wasn't quoting his younger sister and hoping that Renji wouldn't realise that his words were not his own.

Renji sighed and closed the door. "I've always cared, you idiot. I think I care too much. That's the problem I've been struggling with since you decided to leave and join the First."

"Seems like joining the First was a brilliant career move and a sucky social one," Ichigo commented wryly, sitting down next to Renji's rickety table.

"You could say that," Renji agreed. "You could also say that the distance has helped me gain some perspective, so perhaps it isn't all bad."

Ichigo watched silently as Renji walked into his kitchenette and began to prepare tea, his eyes following the graceful motions of his friend's calloused hands. "Byakuya taught you how to make tea, didn't he?" he asked once Renji had finished and was carrying the small round tray to the table.

"No. Kuchiki-taicho's housekeeper taught me how to make tea," Renji corrected him.

"She was a good teacher," Ichigo said without thinking as he watched Renji pour the steaming liquid into two cups.

Renji laughed. "You haven't even tried it yet!" he pointed out, nudging one of the cups over to Ichigo's side of the table. "It was during one of my attempts to infiltrate the Kuchiki mansion to meet Rukia," he explained, a far off look in his eyes. "I invited myself in under the pretext of learning what Taicho expected from me in addition to normal Shinigami duties. He let me follow him home one afternoon, and gave me over to her. She had me sat in a room with an empty tea service for hours practising the motions. Now I do it without thinking, even when I'm not in the office."

"I never learnt how to prepare tea," Ichigo said thoughtfully. "I know Yuzu knows how, and I think Karin does too - they may have had a class on it in school or something."

"It's not a particularly useful skill," Renji pointed out. "I don't see why you should want to learn how."

Ichigo shrugged. "I can just see why the Geisha learn how, that's all."

Renji stared at him for a second, and then changed the subject. "How are you settling in at the First?" he asked.

"It's ok, I suppose. Yamamoto-soutaicho has me training with his seated officers, learning new techniques. I'm even working on kidou, although I think I'll be about as useless as you are at it."

"Hey!" Renji protested. "I'm not that bad!"

"You really are," Ichigo teased. "And no, I don't want to go outside and prove it, you might burn your eyebrows off. Again."

Ichigo grinned in triumph as Renji shook his head in disbelief. "Rukia told you about that?"

"No, Toushiro did, and I think he heard it from Hinamori-San."

Renji groaned and covered his hot cheeks with his hands. "I can't believe that she told her 'Shiro-chan' that!" he complained.

Ichigo sipped at his tea, waiting patiently until Renji overcame his embarrassment. "I think she tells him everything, or used to," he said quietly, the sadness of the young Captain's situation overcoming him for a moment. "I don't think she'll ever get over Aizen."

"Bastard," Renji agreed, pouring himself another cup. "When did this conversation get so gloomy anyhow? Have you heard anything about our next move against the Fraccion during your time at the first?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Nothing much. I might be in the First Division but I'm a lower rank than you at the moment, remember? I'm not even a seated officer."

"Give it time. Sasakibe let something slip in the Lieutenant's meeting yesterday about 'after Kurosaki-san's promotion'."

"Great. More ceremony to look forward to," Ichigo muttered grumpily.

Renji smiled and filled Ichigo's cup with the last of the tea. "We are the military," he pointed out. "I think that just comes with a lot of ceremony and paperwork."

"Don't forget training."

Renji's expression turned serious as he handed the full cup over. "I was right, you know. I did miss you."

"I would have come round sooner, but I wasn't sure if you wanted to see me," Ichigo explained.

"I'm sorry," Renji apologised awkwardly. "I don't deal all that well with change."

"I'd noticed," Ichigo replied with a hint of acid in his voice. "Doesn't mean that we're not still friends though," he continued.

"You're too forgiving, you know that?"

"Shut up," Ichigo instructed. "You shouldn't complain when it's you I'm forgiving!"

Their conversation was interrupted as a hell butterfly entered through the open window and hovered over the table top between them.

_/All Shinigami to report to their Captains immediately. The use of Flash Step is Authorised. All Shinigami to report to their Captains immediately./_

Ichigo and Renji immediately leapt to their feet. "Hope it's something good," Renji said. "See you later?"

Ichigo nodded. "See you later!"

The rush of their movements sent the curtains fluttering wildly in the breeze. In the empty room, two half full cups of tea steamed gently next to the empty teapot.

Fin

A/N: You know, I think I'll leave it at this. Not really a relationship fic, more of a Ichigo looses his memory and then finds his place. Plus I feel that this story has lost it's momentum, and I need a break. This universe may just pick up again, so look out for a sequel! This ending is not meant to be a cliffhanger, just an indication that life has now settled a normal routine – they perform duties, respond to emergencies and kill hollows. Unusual levels of anxt are officially over! At least until next time.


End file.
